The FBI confirmed that it’s investigating Russia’s effort to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, including possible links between the Donald Trump campaign and the Russian government. That’s one of the big headlines from testimony by James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, before the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on March 20. It was extraordinary testimony, not least because it may have revealed some of the inner workings of a secretive foreign-intelligence court.
It was the first time a confirmation of the ongoing investigation was made in public. And it appeared to confirm -- albeit indirectly -- that the FBI had sought and received a special warrant from the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. This court has to approve any federal government electronic monitoring of people in the U.S. who might have information related to security threats. The surveillance can include wiretaps, data collection, business records and physical searches.
